MARKUS X'S POV

I awoke to the sound of dripping blood and the smell of rotting flesh. Attempting to remove my helmet, I found that my arms and legs were restrained to a bloody table by some sort of glowing green energy. Fortunately though, none of the blood was mine, though I had the feeling some would be joining it soon enough.

Looking around in my very limited field of vision, I spotted a great many corpses and abominations that obviously were failures of whoever this place belonged to. There were tanks carrying still-living creatures along with a table that had a bloody, fleshless body upon it.

it was then that I heard the voice of someone who gave me shivers running down my spine: the Emperor, Shao Kahn. The skull-adorned man was coming closer to me, a very large warhammer in his hands.

"So... One of Raiden's pathetic champions succeeded in making their way to Outworld in order that they may spy on me. A foolish waste of my time!"

Shao Kahn swung the hammer down onto my chestplate. While the armor held, I heard a visible crack from one of my ribs as they gave way from the shock.

"But no matter... You will tell me all that you know."

Immediately realizing that there was no way I would be exiting here alive, I decided to be forthcoming. I would tell him all I knew.

"Alright then... Let me tell you everything that happened to me from the moment I ran into Mileena until now, since that's how long I've been here."

I saw him frown, evidently displeased that she had allowed an Earthrealmer to slip in. "Anyways... So Mileena, who I'm going to guess is your daughter judging from the similar eyes, beat me down, but oddly enough decided to spare me and take me to... What do you call it, Outworld? While there, I helped bring Motaro's body in and saw you energize the Empress with Shang Tsung's essence. After Mileena and Noob Saibot got beaten by that burned Earthrealm guy and he escaped, I helped her get up and go to her room."

"I was rudely interrupted, however, by Sektor, the red cyborg. Evidently the body armor I wear is similar enough to how the cyborgs look that he thought I was one of them. When I refused to come with him, he tried to 'decommission' me. As you can guess, I beat him down and made him a little toasty. After helping Mileena get in the bath, I was just going to scrub her down with a sponge when some blade-armed freakshow and a yellow ninja knocked at her door. I'm guessing you sent them... So they beat me down and here I am."

Shao Kahn merely looked at me as he walked around, then without warning pounded his hammer down again on my chest. I felt yet another rib crack as the armor itself showed a large dent where the Emperor had hit it.

"Do you think I am foolish? You know more than you have told me, not to mention your clear and blatant lies. Tell me all that you know before I choose to pound your head off of your body and give it to Mileena to play with!"

I again tried to take off my helmet, only for Kahn himself to violently rip it off of my head. "You have ten seconds to tell be what you know, otherwise you will be decapitated."

I writhed and struggled against my bonds, trying to get free. "Kahn! Listen! I don't know anything more about this place then what I just told you! Don't pathetically waste my life when I have so many uses! Dish scrubber, chef, street sweeper..."

He interrupted me, raising his hammer up. "Your time is up. Give my regards to Quan Chi when you meet him in the Netherrealm!"

MILEENA'S POV

I had gotten to the Flesh Pits just in time! My father had his hammer primed, ready to in one swift blow tear Trojan's head off of his body. Leaping forward with all my might, I jumped into my father, knocking him down before he could turn my playmate's head into an extra-large bowling ball for Noob Saibot to use.

"Father, please don't do this!"

My father, my emperor, stood up and stared at me, frustration and hatred burning in his eyes. "What is it, Mileena? What reason could you possibly give me to spare this pathetic Earthrealmer?"

I watched, thinking of a reason as he raised his hammer once again. I blurted said reason out while the hammer was inches away from Trojan's face.

"He is mine!"

Both my father and Trojan looked at me, speaking simultaneously. "What?"

I reiterated, since neither of them evidently understood my logic. "Trojan belongs to me. I found him, I defeated him in Mortal Kombat, and I brought him to Outworld. He is mine, my property."

I slowly slinked towards the two of them until I was right next to Trojan, looking over him with my piercing yellow eyes. "Besides," I paused, breathing in, "he is the only Earthrealmer to see me without my mask and not call me ugly."

My father looked at me with a look of shock on his face before turning to Trojan. "Is this true?"

He looked back at my father. "I know this is going to shock you, but yes. She's not ugly without the mask. Besides, anyone who focuses solely on her face and ignores the rest of her deserves to have their brain beaten to a fine mush."

My father rested his hand firmly underneath his chin, culling over what he was going to do. I knew, though, that he had made his mind up when the bonds restraining Trojan disappeared, causing my playmate to fall limply to the floor. I quickly rushed over to him and helped him up, my father watching the entire time.

"Very well... He is yours, Mileena. Just keep him out of my way during this invasion. Understood?"

I nodded and bowed, placing Trojan's arm over my shoulder and helping him out of the Flesh Pits, reaching down and grabbing his fallen helmet before mounting it back on his head as we walked away.

MARKUS X'S POV

I... was very confused at the moment. Mileena actually cared about me enough to save me from her father. I really didn't care why she did it... I was just glad I was still alive. Turning to look at her, I tilted my helmeted head to the side, leaning it on her shoulder as we returned to her room. I remember her giving me some medicine, which made me a bit tired. Stumbling towards her bed, I passed out, unable to move anymore.

When I woke up, I felt... lighter. Looking down, I saw that I was comfortably arranged in Mileena's bed. Smiling, I yawned, stretching my arms out, but as I did so I felt something to my right. Turning to look, I saw it was Mileena.

Naked.

Without a mask.

Staring directly at me only a few inches away.

Yeah, you can obviously guess what happened next. I screamed and jumped up from the bed so high that I hit my head on the stone ceiling and fell back down. Rubbing my head as I stood up and looked at myself, I noticed that I had no clothes on either.

And then it hit me.

"MILEENA!"

I panicked, hoping she had not taken advantage of me in my sleep. "You didn't do what I think you did, did you?"

She looked at me with as bland a look as someone with a perpetual grin on their face could. "If you are thinking that I had sex with you while you were sleeping, the answer is no. If instead you thought that I helped you out of your armor, gave you some Shokan medicine to help heal your ribs, then tucked you into bed, however, you would be right. I do NOT take advantage of people who are in my servitude."

Those words calmed me down quite a bit, but not enough. I wondered where my clothes were. "So... Where's my armor?"

"On top of my dresser, but for now, you have no need for it. Go grab yourself one of the warriors' kimonos from my closet and meet me in the throne room."

I questioned her, asking what she wanted me to do.

"Oh, not much. Just have a gift to give to a friend of mine..."